Kitty Love
by TalkingMime
Summary: Xiao is in love, and Ruby is just dying to found out who has stolen the young cat girl's heart. But will the genie get her way, or will Xiao be able to keep this little secret to herself? (Xiao x ?)


Kitty Love

TalkingMime09

Disclaimer: I don't own _Dark Cloud_ in any shape, way, form, or manner. In fact, I don't own anything or anyone mentioned here. I own none of it, expect for the plotline.

Author notes: Nothing much to say on this bit, I guess. I just hope you all enjoy it!

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_Dost thou have many a lover? _

_Such a flavor is a rare catch indeed. _

_I can only lick my lips in memory of your taste,_

_What a luscious treat! _

_It is no wonder so many are after you..._

_Meow._

--

Xiao was in love.

She had that look on her face, the one found only on the face of a girl in love. And she smiled and hummed to annoying tunes constantly. Yes, there was no mistaking it; the agile cat girl was very much in love indeed. But with whom?

Unbeknownst to her, that very mind-boggling question had been the cause of much curiosity, which had then led to a great deal of profound contemplation, that brought upon a handful of frustration, and finally ended with even more curiosity than there had been when the entire cycle began—all on the part of a very mischievous genie. And that genie was of course, the one and only Ruby.

Thinking back on a logical scale, one wonders… who else could the narration have been referring to? It's not like genies are exactly the most common phenomenon in the world.  

Ahh well, there _was_ the Dark Genie who attempted to destroy the world…

But that was an evil, evil dude. And Ruby's nice, if not rather innocent.

Anyway, the esteemed genie had been pondering this question for a while. It was obvious to her, if not to any of the male components of the rag-tag group of heroes, that Xiao had that special someone on her mind. And being curious little Ruby, the genie was dying to know who had stolen the young cat's heart.

At first, she suspected Toan, and for good reason. After all, who could resist determined look on his cute little elfish face? And the boy's bravery and immense courage was something surely not to be overlooked.

But the more she continued calculating the possibilities of Xiao's mystery man to be Toan, the more Ruby thought that Toan wasn't the one that was on the cat girl's mind. After all, Xiao looked up to the holder of the Atlamillia like she would a master, as a cat would look up to its owner. But that of course, was for reasons rather obvious.

So Ruby pondered other possibilities. Like Goro.

Despite the young forest warrior's many faults, he was certainly strong. Not everyone could trudge around carrying a giant fish and successfully use it as a weapon, if not a rather awkward one. Of course, he looked much more impressive with his Battle Axe than he did, carrying around a giant frozen fish.

But he was rather arrogant at times, either that or very, very proud, which there was nothing with. Nonetheless, it didn't seem that the cat girl would be the type to be infatuated with a man's strength, especially if that was one of his greater strong points.

There was always Ungaga.

A noble, renowned warrior whose strength was said to be unmatched by any in Muska Lacka. He was modest, kind, valiant, skillful, and handsome—what else could a cat girl be looking for in a guy?

Well, perhaps if he wasn't engaged to his fiancé, Mikara...

So, who did that leave? Not too many choices. In fact, the only left seemed to be Osmond.

Osmond? What did any of them know about the moon dweller? Not much. He hadn't been in the party too long, and he certainly didn't look human. Well, then again, nether did Xiao. Perhaps that could have been the very reason that the cat girl was in love with him, and not someone else. But still, Ruby was not convinced. Something in the back of her mind told her that it wasn't Osmond.

But then, who _was_ Xiao in love with? 

Finally, the genie decided to take it upon herself to personally question the cat girl for the elusive answer to the inquiry that not even her superior genie mind could solve, or if not that, at least find some way to coax (and bribe, if needed) the answer out of her.

So on one bright, sunny, glorious day at Dark Heaven Castle—but perhaps not too bright, sunny, and glorious—while Goro was attempting to make his way through the Limit Zone in the Gallery of Time (an ordeal that was sure to take quite a while), Ruby adjusted her Secret Armlet and sat down on the floor next to the seated cat girl. The party was just killing time, she knew, waiting for the forest warrior to get back. It was the perfect opportunity for the genie to pry some answers that would satisfy her curiosity.

And so the genie used the time to her advantage.

"Say Xiao…" Ruby began, attempting to catch the cat girl's attention, as she leaned back against the wall and whipped out a nail file. A girl had to stay beautiful, after all, and that was something that not even a genie's magic could accomplish.

"Hmm?" the cat girl replied without bothering to look up from her attachments and Steve slingshot, confirming that she was listening.

"You know, we don't usually talk about stuff."

But before the cat girl could reply, Ruby heard a rather annoying voice comment, "Awh, come on Xiao! I want the sapphire! It's blue. Blue is pretty! Why can't you stick the stupid diamond on your Double Impact or something?"

Ruby stopped filing and blinked. Whose voice was that?

Rolling her eyes and sighing, Xiao placed the sapphire into one of Steve's slots and told him to shut up. "Sorry Ruby," she apologized with a smile, despite her slingshot's whining. "What were you saying?"

"Well, you know how we don't really get to talk about… stuff?"

The cat girl meowed questioningly. "We don't?"

"Oh fine, ignore me! Let's see what you do when I _refuse _to upgrade myself!"

Xiao stuffed the bothering slingshot into her backpack. "Shut up!" Glancing at Ruby's armlet with a hint of jealously, she sighed. "You are so lucky that your weapon doesn't talk."

"I heard that!" came the muffled response from the weapon's still audible voice.

Xiao shook her head in disgust. "Ignore him."

Ruby chuckled. "All right."

"Meow… so you were saying something about us not… talking?"

"Well," the genie resumed filing her nails, "We don't. Not about important stuff anyway."

Xiao meowed and simultaneously raised an eyebrow in apparent confusion. "You mean like saving the world?"

"No, no, no," Ruby hastily corrected. "Of course, that's important. But I mean… we're friends, right?"

The cat girl mewed in assent.

"So, if you were secretly in love with someone, you'd tell me who it was, wouldn't you?"

Ruby's question was answered with yet another confused-sounding "meow." Xiao thought it over. "Well, I suppose… But why do you ask?"

The genie blinked. Was Xiao completely clueless? Clearing her throat, she inquired, "Don't you love anyone?"

At this, the cat girl's face went slightly pink. "Oh. Well, not really… Sort of…"

Finally, they were getting somewhere. "So…" Ruby smiled, "who is it?"

But the cat girl wasn't about to confess so easily. Turning to face the genie, she meowed a couple times then declared, "I'll only tell you, if you can guess. But you only get five guesses!"

 Again, Ruby blinked. Well, she certainly hadn't expected that. Quickly regaining her previous train of thought, Ruby replied, "Toan," without thinking.

Xiao grinned as she shook her head. "Nope."

The genie made a face. One guess gone down the drain. "Goro?"

The cat girl shook her head again. Three more.

"Ungaga?"

"Nope… isn't he married?"

Ruby shrugged. "Not yet."

"Two more guesses!"

The genie frowned. Now this wasn't going nearly the way she expected. She was quickly running out of chances to satisfy her curiosity. "Well, what about Osmond?"

Xiao looked thoughtful. "Hmm... I've never seen his face… Nope! Last guess, Ruby!"

Last guess? Who else could there be? The Fairy King? No, he was far too old…

What about Dran? He wasn't human either, like Xiao, but then again, he didn't even resemble a human being at the slightest. Except for the fact that he could talk.

Seda! He was young, handsome, from 400 years in the past, and ... dead. Perhaps, it wasn't him. And finally, it seemed like there was one choice without fault.

No, no… None of those were even worth using up her last guess on. Ahh, but then, the genie realized who it must have been. It hit Ruby like a bolt of lightning, only not quite as painful. But she finally knew who Xiao must have been in love with. He was young, attractive, talented, human, and very much alive.

"Daniel Radcliffe!"

"… Who?"

--

After the fifth guess, Xiao had resolutely refused to answer any following questions about her love. So poor Ruby never did find out whom it was that had successfully claimed the cat girl's heart. But little did the genie know how simple the answer truly was.

Once the Gallery of Time had been conquered, and the Dark Genie defeated, everyone returned home. Both Xiao and the young swordsman named Toan hurried back to Norune Village, where they would live happily for the rest of their lives.

And it was a happy existence, for Xiao, as she was reunited with her love once she returned home—a love that Ruby could have never guessed in a hundred thousand years, and one that only a cat could learn to adore—the miracle that was Meow Mix.

Fin

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End notes: Heh,well, that's it. Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it. If you took a minute to review, it would be really appreciated. Thanks again!


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